Crisis as 24 out of 48 nations fail CAF stadium test
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday February 18, 2023 06:00
As of May 2021, 21 out of CAF’s 54 member states did not have facilities that meet the continental body’s requirements. That number has grown to 24 as of the beginning of this month.
This resulted in countries flying all over the continent to neighbouring states to play their ‘home’ matches. In 2021, Botswana’s only had one stadium that met CAF requirements, being the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown.
Two other ‘giant’ facilities the National Stadium and the Lobatse Sports Complex failed the test. Up to date, the two stadiums have not been certified fit to host international matches. There has been work carried out at the National Stadium with the installation of bucket seats and improvements to other facilities but this was not enough to convince a recent inspection to pass the stadium fit.
The Lobatse Sports Complex, which used to host a number of Zebras matches between 2012 and 2014, has fallen out of favour and remains out of bounds for national team matches. The stadium is relatively new, built during the 2010 World Cup hosted in South Africa. However, it is already facing challenges, with the turf also providing concerns. It also failed a recent test.
The Obed Itani Chilume Stadium had stood tall up to the 2023 test, which saw the Francistown facility join the National Stadium and the Lobatse Sports Complex in the ‘damned’ facilities. It left Botswana without a CAF-approved venue, with the Zebras preparing to host Equatorial Guinea next month. The Botswana National Sport Commission and the Botswana Football Association officials are confident the country has done enough to convince CAF to give the facilities a thumbs-up.
Botswana joins 23 other countries that are failing to keep up with stringent CAF requirements. While countries like Botswana, Namibia, Malawi and Zimbabwe are struggling to pass the CAF test, other nations like South Africa have up to eight venues that meet the standards. Egypt has six, while Algeria and Morocco have five each, proof of the high standards set by the North Africans, while southern African states battle to meet the grade.
Cameroon, which hosted last year’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, has four approved venues while 2012 co-hosts, Equatorial Guinea has three. Nigeria and Zambia each have two. The remaining nations only have one approved venue, with 24 other countries deemed not good enough to host international matches. Of the 48 countries that are still in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, only half have been approved to host matches.
There was February 10 deadline for the countries to have tried to rectify the situation, with the BNSC and BFA convinced they will get the green light from CAF to host Equatorial Guinea in Francistown. However, if the facilities return a fail, authorities would be forced into looking for alternative venues, particularly in South Africa, to host the matches.